When  Digital  Meets  Physical  –  Augmented  Reality  Set  For  Massive  Growth    Author:  James  Towers,  Founding  Partner,  16K  Agency  –  Stockholm,  Sweden.    Marketers  need  to  understand  the  frontier  that  is  Augmented  Reality,  as  its  growth  in  the  next  1-­‐3  years  will  make  or  break  brands.      Augmented  Reality  has  been  associated  with  the  likes  of  Bond  and  Sci-­‐Fi  films  for  decades.  Its  first  notable  application  in  the  public  eye  was  in  1975  where  graphic  overlays  were  used  with  the  nightly  weather  reports.  In  its  true  form,  Augmented  Reality  is  digital  technology  that  enhances  or  ‘augments’  the  physical  world.  Only  now  are  brands  starting  to  see  the  path  to  heightened  consumer  engagement  and  monetisation,  which  is  about  to  fuel  enormous  growth  as  the  technology  becomes  mainstream.      Predicted  Growth  and  Market  Size  Driven  by  the  rapid  rise  of  smartphone,  mobile  tablet  device  penetration  and  advancements  in  mobile  Internet,  the  Augmented  Reality  (AR)  market  has  a  projected  global  growth  figure  of  $5.2B  US,  which  will  be  realised  by  the  end  of  2016.  By  2018  there  will  be  200  million  individual  AR  smartphone  application  users.  And  by  2020,  100  million  automobiles  will  have  active  AR  displays  on  board.  That’s  a  swell  that  some  brands  are  already  starting  to  paddle  into  and  the  spoils  will  go  those  that  get  their  hair  wet  early.        Some  of  the  brands  that  are  leading  the  charge  into  AR  are  Lego,  GE,  Kraft,  L’Oreal,  Volkswagen,  Emirates  and  The  Body  Shop  to  name  a  few.  German  print  and  communications  giant,  Bauer  Media  Group,  have  invested  significantly  in  the  adoption  and  development  of  the  AR  application,  Viewa.  The  Viewa  application  has  now  eclipsed  over  1  million  downloads  and  gloats  an  average  CTR  of  7%  per  execution,  far  outreaching  the  average  Facebook  campaign  of  4.5%  or  the  underwhelming  standard  of  digital  banner  ads  being  just  0.07%.          The  Dawn  of  the  AR  Specialist  Media  Agency  Traditional  media  agencies  have  been  slow  to  navigate  advancements  in  AR  technology.  In  many  cases  the  innovation  seen  from  companies  is  driven  via  the  actual  brands  themselves  looking  to  gain  the  edge  over  their  competitors.  The  freshly  launched  16K  Agency  is  a  media  agency  specialising  in  AR  within  the  media  and  retail  industries  of  the  Nordic  region.  Established  in  Stockholm  in  early  2015,  16K  Agency  have  adopted  AR  technology  and  are  now  introducing  it  to  brands  and  media  owners  in  Sweden,  Denmark,  Norway,  Finland  and  Iceland.            

What  It  Means  For  Brands  Marketers  know  that  brand  experience  and  high  engagement  is  the  key  to  modern  day  marketing  success.  Richer  web  and  fluent  mobile  experience  are  essential  tools  needed  to  fight  for  consumer’s  fickle  attention.  AR  delivers  a  platform  where  consumers  can  now  have  rich  digital  engagement  with  any  physical  brand  touch  points  like,  products,  print  media,  outdoor,  POS,  transit  or  experiential  displays.  This  is  making  the  path  to  purchase  far  shorter  and  far  more  personalised  for  the  consumer.      Media  owners  with  print  or  physical  assets  are  seeing  a  three-­‐fold  benefit.  Firstly,  their  advertisers  can  now  integrate  digital  retail  opportunities  directly  from  their  print  executions.  This  is  giving  publishers  a  hand  in  the  pocket  of  ever-­‐expanding  digital  budgets.  Secondly,  the  editorial  content  can  be  enriched  with  greater  digital  experiences  like  video,  links  to  related  content,  online  destinations,  competitions,  extended  photo  galleries  and  more.  Thirdly,  brands  can  now  have  highly  accurate  and  real-­‐time  engagement  data  over  media  channels  that  were,  historically,  extremely  expensive  and  difficult  to  gauge.          Outdoor  Media  owners  are  essentially  now  the  landlords  of  1,000’s  of  mobile  ‘pop  up’  retail  sites  as  AR  technology  enables  any  outdoor  media  execution  to  come  to  life.  Now,  any  brand  can  have  a  virtual  ‘bricks  and  mortar’  store  in  all  the  train  stations,  bus  shelters  or  streetscapes.      Retailers  now  have  the  opportunity  to  bring  their  packaging  or  products  to  life.  FMCG  brands  can  make  their  products  appear  ‘alive’  by  suggesting  recipes,  complimentary  products,  and  in  store  and  location  specific  vouchers.  Fashion  retailers  can  offer  off-­‐the-­‐tag  executions  that  help  buyers  style  and  match  their  purchases  with  help  from  style-­‐tip  videos.      Brands  Can  Speak  In  Real-­‐Time  With  AR  technology  having  the  ability  to  ‘augment’  the  real  world,  brands  can  serve  different  content  or  creative  in  real-­‐time  to  consumers.  The  effect  on  personalisation  of  the  media  experience  is  huge.  Brands  are  able  to  serve  different  content  each  minute  of  the  day,  if  needed,  and  also  change  this  via  location  or  through  user  preferences  or  demographics.      The  Road  Ahead  Brands  that  want  the  next  step  in  consumer  engagement  need  to  make  the  decision  now  to  lead  their  competitors  with  AR  and  forge  ahead  with  what  is  an  industry  on  the  edge  of  outstanding  growth.        About the Author: James Towers is the Founding Partner of 16K Agency, a Stockholm based agency focusing on Augmented Reality for the media and retail industries in the Nordic region. Sources: Juniper Research August 2013 http://brandongaille.com/augmented-reality-market-size/

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234407 http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/kraft-fuels-mobile-sell-more-summer-cheeseburgers-158350